title: Vitamin D - from essentiality to functionality.
abstract: Vitamin D is essential in bone and muscle health. Severe deficiency (25-hydroxyvitamin D serum levels < 25 nmol/l) can result in rickets and osteomalacia, fractures, myopathy and falls. All recent recommendations on vitamin D agree that children and adults should reach a target 25-hydroxyvitamin D range of at least 50 nmol/l (threshold for normal vitamin D status) and 50 % of the population may be below that threshold. A vitamin D intake of 600 to 800 IU per day as recommended today will prevent about 97 % of children and adults from vitamin D deficiency. Notably, a higher 25-hydroxyvitamin D threshold of more than 60 nmol/l is needed for optimal functionality, fall and fracture in adults age 65 and older.
authors.affiliation: University Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland. Heike.Bischoff@usz.ch
authors.forename: Heike
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bischoff-Ferrari
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000517:prevention & control; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D004032:Diet; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000502:physiology; D009135:Muscular Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D018673:Nutrition Policy; D009751:Nutritional Requirements; D010018:Osteomalacia / Q000209:etiology; D012279:Rickets / Q000209:etiology; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000097:blood / Q000502:physiology*; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000150:complications / Q000517:prevention & control
chemical_list: D014807:Vitamin D; C104450:25-hydroxyvitamin D